


Not thinking

by AngieLo2409



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: BFFP, Brownies, F/M, First Kiss, Gen, Homecoming, Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:47:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26629261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngieLo2409/pseuds/AngieLo2409
Summary: Matt comes back home to find his department turned into a home thanks to Sylvie Brett
Relationships: Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 31
Kudos: 91





	Not thinking

**Author's Note:**

> Hello
> 
> After suffer a blow to my writing in english confidence and finding the most amazing beta on @KaeCooks, I'm back.
> 
> This mi second entry for BFFP September challenge

Matt had gotten a new apartment, finally getting away from the dangers of losing his sight if he ever walked in on Stella and Kelly during R-rated activities. Since he had a furlough planned, Sylvie asked if she could decorate at least one room while he was away. He told her to decorate it all. 

He knew how much Sylvie loved those things and, since she didn't have a real chance to decorate Herrmann's studio where she was now living and was still getting over all the changes in her life, maybe it was a good plan to keep her away from over thinking. 

He was a little overwhelmed by all the options she had shown him on her iPad, so he just told her that he wanted something simple and practical, and something manly, not bright colors. This new apartment had an open concept like Severide's loft, but smaller and cosier. Sylvie thought it was perfect for him. 

Matt had given her a slightly high budget but she cut it down to make it more of a challenge including the 2 week time limit. She was having a blast, but still there was this weird feeling that had returned to her over these days without him. What had he meant when he said "whatever you decide, I'm here"? If she had decided to keep the baby, how would their friendship change? What would have been his role in raising Amelia? She shook her head. There was no point in thinking in "what if." She needed to focus on getting things done.

Matt was supposed to arrive around 8 o'clock and it was almost 6. The brownies were still in the oven, and now she was sitting at the kitchen table looking at some photos she had printed. She thought Matt needed some memories since everything got lost in the fire. She had pictures of almost everything since she arrived at 51, but had asked Kelly for some pics from before she arrived. 

It was funny, she never thought about Matt before Gabby. She knew about Hallie, but not the details, and of course she knew about Shay. Kelly told her about Darden and the kids but also told her to ask Matt. 

She framed some of the group pictures she had and then she found a lot of pictures of him with Gabby, even some with her and Antonio, some of his alderman days. Other than that, she didn't have many: one from Hermmann's promotion, one group photo Emily had gotten of all of them hugging during that game night with Olivia, and one from Joe and Chloe's wedding. She laughed at the fact that most of Casey's photos included Severide. She was almost certain that they would choose each other over anyone in the world, including Stella.

When the oven alarm rang, she took the brownies out. One of the perks of living with Cindy was learning to make her secret recipes in exchange for taking care of the kids. She was going back and forward between the idea of staying and watching his reaction to the decorations or letting him arrive home without feeling the need to take care of a guest. Deciding on the latter, she wrote two notes. She left one next to the brownies, letting him know that there might be gummy worms in it or maybe not. The next one she left on the table next to the pictures, telling him to choose which ones he wanted to frame.

Sylvie was picking up her stuff when she heard the door opening.

"Oh wow," Matt said, dropping his travel bag and looking around. 

"Surprise!" she said, expecting some other reaction from Matt. "Welcome home. Do you like it?"

"This is…" he walked around the living room, the grey sofa was calling him to have a nap on it and Sylvie had left one blanket nearby. Next to the flat screen, she had hanged an old Blackhawks jersey. There was some CPD memorabilia. It was so… him. Then he saw her, her face a mix of excitement and worry.

"Are those Cindy's brownies?" he asked, smelling the chocolate.

"They might be… or maybe Annabelle's… or maybe a Herrrmann-Brett colab," Sylvie teased, pulling out a gummy worm from a small bag in her jacket.

"You shouldn't have…"

"But tell me… do you like it? Everything is available for exchange, well maybe not everything, some stuff is renovated but-"

"It's perfect," he smiled, "but I'm not sure I’ll be able to have fresh flowers all the time."

Sylvie smiled. She had put some daisies on the counter next to the coffee machine."It was just for the big reveal"

"And what are those?” he asked, looking at the photos.

"If remember well, you used to have pictures framed in your old apartment, so I thought maybe you wanted some for this one."

Matt said nothing while looking at the pictures. He stopped when he saw Hallie's face. "How?"

"Kelly gave me that one and some other older ones," she said, showing him more.

"You know," he started as he pulled out a chair for her and then one for him and they both sat down, "I never told you about Hallie, right?"

"No, but I know some of that story. "

"She was so good." His voice cracked a little. "She helped me to be better… she still does." 

Sylvie put her hand over his.

"She would have liked you," Matt said with a smile.

"And I'm sure I would have liked her too as long as you were happy."

"I'm so used to missing her that I don't even notice. That makes sense, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded and smiled, "I get that way with Julie."

"Sometimes, when I remember her, I can't believe how long I've survived without her, how far I've come."

"I'm sure she’s proud of you, just as I am."

"The same happens with Darden and Shay…"

"Otis and now Julie," she said, looking into the void.

"Guess that sadness also brings us together," Matt said, standing up. "What about some coffee to have with the stories? If you can stay?"

"Sure," she stood up with him and got plates and the brownies.

When they were going back to the table she stopped him. "You must try the couch. If I had space, I would take it to my own place."

Matt sat down and felt he was on a couch made for him: not too soft, not too hard, just perfect and big enough to be comfortable to sleep on . 

"Amazing, right?"

"I don't think my bed is this comfortable," Matt said, stretching his back. 

Sylvie brought over the photos for him to keep sorting through, then took off her shoes and sat on the other side of the couch.

"What about this one?" Sylvie asked as she showed him a picture of his alderman days.

"Not something I want to remember a lot."

"I believe you had the right ideas - but politics… I never understood why you would get into that world."

"Really?" He was confused, he almost couldn't remember anything about her around that time. 

"Yeah, I mean, I supported you, but I kind of knew that it wasn't going to work for you."

"If you had told me then…" he trailed off.

She chuckled. "We weren't friends then. We were like some kind of in-laws and I don't think you would have listened to me then."

"Probably not." He smiled back at her, setting the alderman photo to the side, "but that one is a no." He picked up another bunch of pictures. "Why are there so many pictures of me and Severide?"

"You have more pictures with him than with anyone else, even Dawson." She laughed, picking up another photo. "I vote for this one of the two of you jumping off the building. It was like you were  _ trying _ to get yourselves killed."

"Don't get me started about that reporter," Matt said, getting serious.

"Oh no, he was a creep, but you have to admit the picture is a great memory. I can imagine you two being old and complaining about how the firefighters were better in the old days, maybe while fishing or something like that."

"And where will our grandkids be?” He asked without thinking how it sounded.

Sylvie closed her eyes for a second. "Maybe planning to be firefighters…"

He showed her a photo of his wedding with Gabby. "This one is definitely a no." 

"Why?"

"I don't really need a reminder of a failed marriage."

"Do you miss her?" Sylvie asked seriously.

"Do you?" Matt turned her question around on her rather than answering.

"I do… but then I don't," she admitted. "I miss my old friend, but I'm sure she's different now, and I am different too."

"The same goes for me. I miss the Gabby from when we were dating, before losing the baby… She was never the same after that… but I know that if we ever got together again, we would reach that point again somehow." He paused "Do you think I was wrong to tell her I didn’t want her to get pregnant again?"

"I thought you were at first, not understanding her… but I guess no one took the time to understand your side of the story."

"I just wanted her to be safe. Doctors told her getting pregnant again was too risky. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her... I ended up losing her anyway… but at least she's alive."

"I get it now… I get her side and I get yours… it wasn't right for either of you to change your mind for the other one."

They kept on looking through the pictures. Some brought sad memories, like one group picture with Borelli and Chilli. Pictures of Otis made them laugh, remembering some of his crazy ideas, like the robot or him telling her stories about Shay.

"Guess it’s time for me to go," Sylvie said, trying to stand up. She almost tripped, but Matt caught her, helping her back to a sitting position. "My foot is numb," she explained.

"Let me," Matt said as he reached for her foot and started massaging it gently. "I was wondering," he started, and Sylvie looked at him, "why aren't there any pictures of you?"

"I am in most of the group pictures and, if I’m not, it’s because I was the one taking the photo. I believe the only photo of just the two of us is from Joe's wedding." Sylvie looked for the photo and showed it to him. "We look good together."

"We do," he said, smiling and looking at her. 

She returned his gaze and then they got lost in each other's eyes, only breaking the contact to look at the other’s lips, each expecting the other to make the first move, but Sylvie broke it

"We've been doing that a lot."

"What do you mean?"

"You know," she said, standing up in a weird moment of self-confidence, "stare."

Matt blushed which made Sylvie smile. Of course he had noticed these staring moments and he loved them. "You've noticed too."

Sylvie didn't know what possessed her, but she kissed him then, almost without any hope of some reaction from him. When he finally kissed her back, it was a slow, soft kiss that neither of them wanted to finish. She put her hand on his chest and he held her close, putting his arm around her waist.

"That's what I call a nice homecoming," Matt said, taking a deep breath before trying to kiss Sylvie again.

"We need to talk," Sylvie said, stopping him.

Matt looked into her eyes and, with a serious tone, he replied, "I don't want to talk." 

Sylvie just raised her eyebrows. 

"If we talk, we are going to think about everything that could be wrong," he explained.

She smiled, looking at his lips. 

"Thinking has stopped me from doing this so many times," he said, then he kissed her again, sliding his hand gently behind her neck, "so don't you start thinking now, Sylvie Brett."

"Okay," she smiled.

"But," Matt started, pulling his phone out of his pocket, "I need…" Rather than finish the statement, he took a selfie of them and smiled when he saw that neither of them were looking into the camera. He turned the screen so Sylvie could see it too. "I want this picture to turn this place into my home."

Sylvie blushed with his words and was about to kiss him when her phone received a text message. "Let me check this," she said apologetically. 

Matt kept holding her close, not wanting to let go of the moment. 

"Oh…" she raised her head, "I have to go."

"Is everything ok?"

"Hailey needs… you know with everything that has happened with Vanessa, I told her that she could call me anytime and I'll go stay with her if she felt lonely and…"

Finally, Matt let go of her, he knew that Hailey needed her. "It's ok… as long as you promise me to not think too much about this." After that kiss, he was sure that they were together, but he didn’t want Sylvie to overthink it.

Sylvie kissed him again. "What about you and me not thinking about this tomorrow at lunch? My treat."

"That sounds like a plan," he said happily as he walked her out. "Thanks for everything. Let me know when you’re with Upton and tell her I'm here for her too."

"Thank you for trusting me with your home," she said, giving the place a final look, "and we didn't even talk about how much I spent."

"I'm sure you cut down the budget to make it more interesting."

"Maybe," she said, smiling. "So… good night Matt."

"Good night Sylvie." Matt kissed her again, their first good night kiss.

With that, she was gone.

Matt missed her presence within seconds after she left. Back inside his apartment, he looked around again. He could imagine Sylvie buying and finding the perfect spot for each thing. It was perfect. He grabbed another brownie and the blanket from the sofa. He entered his room and laid on his bed. It was the only room Sylvie hadn’t decorated. Maybe because she felt it was too intruding decorating a bedroom without the owner. He was going to keep it that way for a while. Maybe, he could get her to come back and decorate it, but he could help her this time. He took a bite of his brownie and found one single gummy worm hidden inside. He took a photo and sent it to Sylvie with the message: "This is evil."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like it and it made you want to bake brownies.
> 
> Love you all, see you next month challenge


End file.
